Praying for Those in Authority: Tillamook County

Neahkahnie Mountain

Those who go down to the sea in ships, who do business on great waters, they see the works of the Lord, And His wonders in the deep. Psalm 107:23-24

Tillamook County was the 12^th to be organized in Oregon’s early days (1853). It has a population of about 27,787 spread over 1,127 square miles. The town of Tillamook is the county seat.

This area of the state is full of fascinating and romantic features. The Tillamook State Forest, the reforested site of the catastrophic Tillamook Burn, a series of fires that destroyed 350,000 acres of old growth forest in the coast range during the years 1933 – 1951, is now a beautiful recreation and timber area. Tourism is a big part of the economy with vacationers renting cottages and campsites all along the Pacific Coast. They visit the Tillamook Air Museum at the site of the former Naval Air Station, and the Tillamook Cheese factory as well as the seafood restaurants, saltwater taffy shops, art galleries all up and down Highway 101.

Lush dairy farms, forestry, tourism, and of course, fishing, are the main pursuits in this county. The ocean itself is a never-ending source of mystery and intrigue. Just walking along the sandy beaches of Tillamook County and seeing the creatures and objects the tide brought in is enough to inspire some to retire to the coast just to search for agates, or seashells, or strange objects from foreign lands.

Tillamook County, OR

Or treasure. Mount Neahkahnie, south of Seaside in Tillamook County, has always been heavy with legend. The local natives called it “the place of the creator,” and it was a spiritually significant place to the local tribes. A 1,680-foot-high headland, it created a formidable barrier between the upper and lower north coast in the early days. Since the first pioneers arrived here, there have been stories and evidence of shipwrecks, and hints of buried treasure. There are two different ships talked about. A buried chest and rocks carved with strange symbols may have been left by Sir Frances Drake in 1579. The other ship was long referred to as The Beeswax Ship due to the large deposits of beeswax found along the base of Mt. Neahkahnie near Manzanita. In the last few years scholars and researchers have identified the ship as the Santo Cristo De Burgos, a Manila galleon, a “castle of the sea,” sailing between the Philippines and Mexico with fine china and beeswax and other luxury items. Caught in a storm, it wrecked at the base of Mt. Neahkahnie in 1693. Researchers have even discovered the name of the captain, a Basque knight, Don Bernardo del Bayo de Pradilla.

Historically, one thing that stands out about life in Tillamook County has been the isolation. It was a difficult place to get to, and early dairy farmers had to build their own ship to transport their milk to markets.

In the 1920’s there was a reinvention of the Klu Klux Klan in the United States, and it came to Oregon, first in Medford, then Eugene and Portland. For some reason it gained a strong following in Tillamook County, possibly due to the isolation and the lack of opposition – those fighting against the KKK ignored isolated Tillamook County. Unlike other places in the state, Klansmen were never elected to political office in the county, but those who wished to be elected were required to align with the KKK. By the 1930’s the movement had died out.

Today the county is governed by an elected, non-partisan Board of County Commissioners, Erin Skaar, Mary Faith Bell and David Yamamoto.

According to the Oregon Constitution, Article 6, Section 6, county clerks are to be elected for a four-year term, as are the county sheriffs. The clerks are responsible for records, land deeds, and overseeing the planning and coordination of elections. The County Clerk of Tillamook County is Tassi O’Neil.

The County Sheriff is Joshua Brown. Homelessness is a growing problem in Tillamook County and the Sheriff’s department has joined with community services, land managers and mental health agencies to create the TAATF, the Transient Accountability and Assistance Task Force, to cooperate in finding solutions for the homeless and the surrounding communities. They have achieved some goals. Pray for continued success.

Pray for continued cooperation and connection in Tillamook County.